nydney1

A little background: Family of 4 (mom, daughter (16), son (18) and dad) from the Chicagoland area. Experienced travelers and cruises with multiple cruises mainly on Carnival and a couple on NCL so I am biased towards Carnival. Travel to Florida: We flew down on Spirit from O’Hare to Ft Lauderdale. Spirit charges per bag and it is cheaper to purchase when booking. I purchased 4 bags ad $48 per bag each way. (which was almost as much as the airfare). Note that the weight limit on Spirit is 40 lbs. per bag. Anything over 40 lbs. is a $75 overweight fee. Dad Tip: I told the family the limit was 35 lbs. so that there was some extra room available for the trip back. Spirit also charges to pick your seats, anywhere from $25-100 depending on the seat. I chose the free option of getting the seats assigned during check in. I checked in online 24 hours before the flight and all 4 seats were together. No issues. I did notice that my son’s TSA precheck did not appear on his boarding pass (more on this below). While waiting to board I noticed that announcements for the flight next to us were offering exit row upgrades for $13.00 per person. I went up and asked and was able to upgrade from the second to the last row to the exit row for $13.00 per person. I well spend $52 for a full flight. TSA precheck: Our return flight was a 11:55 departure and I was worried about making the flight. I signed up and purchased the TSA precheck ($70.00 per person) about two weeks before the trip. There are several ways to do this and they are listed on the TSA website (www.tsa.gov). We chose the offsite option and went to a Staples (yes, the office supplies store) where they did the paperwork and took the photos and fingerprints. We received the authorizations within 24 hours, but were told it may take up to two weeks. I updated the reservations on Spirit with the TSA# and thought we were all good. When I printed the boarding passes my sons ticket did not indicate precheck. At the airport, I asked the agent at Spirit and they had no idea on how the process worked. Without it we all had to wait in line to get through security. I asked a TSA Agent and he said that you don’t always get approved for your flight, it’s written in the small print. I had never heard that but just said OK as time was not an issue on the departure and figured I would research it as I got time. The return flight was the one that I was worried about. For our return flight his precheck again did not print. I went to the TSA website and the website says that this sometimes happens and you have to fill out a form online. The auto response said the response will be within 3-5 days. I will give them a call this morning to see if I can figure this out for future trips. (Net result $280 wasted) Embarkation: We had a one-way rental from Ft Lauderdale to Miami via Enterprise so we dropped it back off at Miami International. Dad Tip: Not sure about all rental companies in Florida but with Enterprise the toll pass does not include the express lanes. If you choose to use the express lanes and go through a toll pass it will be a $25 fine per occurrence. Thank you, Marissa at Enterprise, for this info. The rental car companies stopped the shuttles over to the port back during Covid so you are on your own to get to the port. I asked about a taxi and it was $45 for the 4 of us. An uber XL was only $34. The uber picked us up within 10 minutes and it was a 28-minute ride to the port. (arriving at 11:54 AM) I thought the port was packed. Our driver said it was not too bad with 5 ships boarding. Our check in time was 12:00 so we were right on time. We are Platinum so we were able to use the priority boarding. The line kept moving and we were onboarding the ship within 45 minutes. Both my daughter and son had Arizona Tea’s (multiple) and water in the carryon bag. My son had the tall cans and the daughter the plastic bottles. Both were let through security with no issues. A few good mornings and some please and thank you and they were through. The person in front of them had an attitude about everything and they checked every single thing in their carryon. Security was there with the dogs right after you went through the scanners and they were checking bags as you went by. There was no delay in the lines and the process took less than a minute. We just carried our bags with us until 1:30 instead of dropping them at the room. We went up Deck 11 and had lunch at Cucina del Capitano. While this is a pay restaurant at night during the afternoon the lunch is free. We were the only ones there and lunch was good. I had the linguini with alfredo and chicken. Sorry no photos of lunch. Ji Ji’s Asian was right next door and no one was there at all. Time to get some things done and try to call the TSA. More to follow.

It’s been a couple of years since we sailed out of Baltimore. We parked at the Port. It’s worth it. I think it was $20 a day. I tried to google other parking and did not find any. Baltimore was the easiest in and out I have done. The line to park is long and slow but they take your luggage out as you pull in to park. Makes it really easy to check in. Once we parked we literally walked right on to the ship. It was 12 minutes from parking to walking into the lobby. I would park at the port again in a heartbeat

yes, you can. As long as it is in cans

Did I miss it, What ship are you sailing on?

Can’t wait to follow along, we are on the Horizon next week

Following, we are on the sailing on the 22nd

I have worn the same black (Dad) cargo shorts and white Polo for the last 10 years.

Assuming you are talking about purchasing it at the airport. Both Ohare and Midway have popcorn stores that sell packaged popcorn You should be fine.

I can’t believe that you are looking at other cruise lines? Is the other cruise line going to give you a Fanny pack for booking. There is even a secret message inside it just for you.

Just asking, if he is still on the ship do you think the regular crew member is really looking for him? If he just mingles in with the crowd he could he could stay on got most of the week, but at some point he would have to run into someone.

How much were the tickets.

You know the first rule is that you do not talk about the Quest. it has been on our last 3 cruises but is nothing like the Quest was before Covid.

Can’t wait for the next post

The best part is the 8 hours of going down the Mississippi. It’s unlike departing from any other port.

It was less than 50 lbs when we left, but it may be a little heavier on the way back.

Why are you weight shaming my luggage?

I’m really looking forward to the review. Do you have any time in New Orleans before you leave. It’s a great town with lots to do. If you get time stop by the Firehouse in the French Quarter (Engine 29). They sell T Shirts that support local charities. Tell Capt Ronnie his friends in Chicago say Hello.

Thank you for your summary

There is a good chance that if you find a Stuart Woods or James Patterson book I left it. I try to visit Goodwill and get 3-4 hardbacks and leave them in the library at the end of the trip. It may be a little corny, but it makes me happy.

As long as both names are on the account and you have 100 shares per person you are fine. We do it all the time

So you are all in the same cabin? If so it should not be a problem

I understand what you are saying. I have found that the 6 day is the best fit for me. We did an 8 day last thanksgiving and found it to be a bit long for me. I found the six day eliminates allot of the die hard party crowd. To me the six day feels like a 7 day with one less see day so I get a day to spend on the front or back side relaxing

In the past you could do a name change for a $50 change fee

I am hoping for a positive change